Kravitz: Former Ice player making impact in Olympics

2:18 PM,
Feb. 15, 2014

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 15: Alexei Tereshchenko #27 of Russia trips over the stick of John Carlson #4 of United States during the Men's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day eight of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 15, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

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SOCHI, Russia - Charlie Skjodt, then the Indiana Ice's head coach, remembered the first time he laid eyes on U.S. Olympic defenseman John Carlson.

"Very first day we stepped on the ice (in 2007-08),'' Skjodt said of Carlson, who plays for the Washington Capitals. "I could tell as soon and he grabbed the puck and went, it wasn't even five minutes, but I could tell he was special. He hadn't even made the team at that point, but within four of five shifts, we made the conscious decision we absolutely had to have him, and within a month he was running our power play.